Ace nails record sales, profits
Ace Hardware Corp., based in Oak Brook, Ill., reported record 2021 revenue of $8.6 billion and record net income of $330 million.
The company reported full year revenue of $8.6 billion, an increase of $831.5 million, or 10.7%, from 2020 revenue, an increase of $931.4 million or 12.2% excluding the 53rd week in fiscal 2020.
Ace Hardware reported net income for fiscal 2021 was $330.0 million, an increase of $13.1 million, from fiscal 2020.
“In comparison to 2019, total revenue increased 38.6% and net income is up 129.8%,” said John Venhuizen, president and CEO.
“My sincere thanks and gratitude to our helpful heroes to whom all the credit goes for serving so well in a very difficult environment,” said Venhuizen.
In Q4, Ace Hardware reported record fourth quarter 2021 revenues of $2.1 billion, an increase of $14.2 million, or 0.7%, from the fourth quarter of 2020. Net income was $9.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, a decrease of $33.8 million from the fourth quarter of 2020.
Increases in the fourth quarter were seen across several departments with outdoor power equipment, holiday and plumbing showing the largest gains, said Ace.
The company said, “the 6.9% increase in retail same-store-sales during the fourth quarter of 2021 reported by the approximately 3,400 Ace retailers, from whom we secure daily retail sales data, was the result of a 10.5% increase in average ticket, partially offset by a 3.3% decrease in same-store transactions.”
Ace said that the 7.5% increase in retail same-store-sales for the full year was the result of a 9.4% increase in average ticket, partially offset by a 1.7% decrease in same-store transactions.
The Bottom Line: Ace Hardware sales for the year moved ahead nearly 11%, approaching $9 billion.
What the CEO said: “This transformational surge in business is driven by two-year stacked comp growth of 34.4%, digital growth of 279%, and the opening of 407 new stores globally over two years,” said Venhuizen.
On a worldwide basis, Ace added 206 stores in fiscal 2021 and cancelled 86, bringing the worldwide store count to 5,583 at the end of fiscal 2021, the company reported.
Company info: Click HERE to read the Q4 and full year 2021 financial report from Ace Hardware.